2014 BRAILLE SCALE (UPDATE)

Thanks for the compliments on my eurofighter Ernest...if your jets are half as good as your armor it'll turn out amazing. Great job so far, I agree that the track looks a little thick...other than the tracks, it's really hard to tell its 1/72 and like you said, I'm sure they'll look better with some paint on them.

I look forward to seeing how this one ends up and what you do with the StuG

OK, here's the M4A3E8 update:

Most of the limited time I had this week was working on the suspension and tracks.  Dragon's HVSS bogies gave me fits.  They just don't want to sit straight and the mounting points aren't very strong so they keep breaking their bond and wobbling around.  I tried re-gluing a few times and managed to get a couple to straighten out and remain solid.  Still not happy with them though so I might keep working at it.

The tracks were a bit of a disappointment.  Although they are made of the new DS styrene and have pretty good detail, I feel they are too thick for the scale.  Worse, they are about two links too long.  Unlike many German and Soviet tanks that have tracks that sag, U.S. tanks typically had very tight track...here's a wartime pic of an Easy Eight.

  As you can see here, the tracks out of the box are too long.

Simply gluing the tracks down to the return rollers wouldn't be much help so I decided to shorten the tracks by one link. This involved carefully slicing one link off the outer track surface, trimming the extra link off the end and then punching new holes for the locating nubs so that they new surface could have a better grip when glued.  Here's a pic of the process:

Here's the modified track next to the unaltered track.  As you can see its one link shorter.  I COULD have made it two links shorter, but I was concerned that it might be too tight and the tension would bend the suspension even worse! 

And here she is with the modified tracks.  The tracks are a little tighter and will probably look better with paint on.   Not perfect, but I don't want to spend any more time on it, so it will do!

As you can see I also added more parts to the turret and the add-on front armor on the hull.  Now all that's left are the little parts which I like to leave for last, cuz otherwise I'll just break them all off!!

I think this guy needs a partner, or better, an adversary.  So lets add this to the build list!

I did a little research and determined that StuG IVs were used in Belgium and Germany in 1945 against US forces, although I could not determine any units they were attached to.  I think its reasonable to assume that an Easy Eight might have encountered a dug in or camouflaged Stug IV in the closing stages of the war.  And if not, well its still Braille Scale!!

Ernest - thanks, i thought it would be a nice 'comparison' of the two eras. However, it was more dumb luck the way it turned out, they were both on my "build next" list and it wan't until posting in here that it dawned on me they were both Corsairs.

Looking forward to your Dragon Update.

As for me, have 1/2 finished glossing the F4U. Am in the process of laying down sandy brown on the A-7.

Hope to post updates later tonight.

Ernest, thanks dude!! Yeah, the rigging was actually not all that bad I gotta say.....

Ernest thanks, the Sherman is really shaping up. I really like that kit with the cast turret.

Hey guys!  Been busy all week working on some of the problems I'm having with the Dragon M4A3E8 Sherman.  I'll post an update in a bit, but right now I want to comment on some of the great work recently posted!

Rob - beautiful Gloster!  You can tell how much work is put into it, it came out great!  I don't even want to know how hard it was to do the rigging on that little braille scale J-8A!!

Terry - being an armor nut myself I can definitely appreciate your Tiger!  Very, very nice sir!  The painting and weathering are fantastic and that's hard to get right in such a small scale!  I hope my armor offerings in this GB are half as nice!  and yes, 1/72 has some different challenges than, say, 1/35, as you've commented on.  I've had to deal with those myself on my Sherman...

Josiah - One of these days I'm going to actually build a jet fighter and when I do, I hope its as nice as yours!  That's one sweet looking Eurofighter!

Chris - the two Corsairs are coming along great!  Love the preshading!  Its so cool that you decided to build two builds of the same NAMED aircraft, yet of totally different eras!  Looking forward to the finished builds!

Wayne - 10 builds in various stages?  Dang!  I get antsy when I have 2 uncompleted!!  If I had 10 that I was actually working on in different stages I think my head would explode!!

I'll have that M4A3E8 update later today.

@Josiah - thanks mate. Hoping to get the camp on the A-7 this weekend.

@waynec - I wouldn't trust myself with that many kits on the go at once. I'd probably get so overwhelmed I'd come to a grinding holt!

cml

Cheers, thanks Rob.

I always tend to have 2-3 builds on the go at any one time. I've also got a 1/35 Panther on the go too. I find there is too much down time when i just do one at a time.

only 2-3 at a time. right now i have about 10 in various stages. of coourse as soon as i get through my painting block i will have a bunch done.

I will probably have two on the go soon. As I`m using artist`s oils for weathering on my Sci Fi build, I will get another on the go with the lengthy drying time of oils.

Oooohhh those look real nice!

Cheers, thanks Rob.

I always tend to have 2-3 builds on the go at any one time. I've also got a 1/35 Panther on the go too. I find there is too much down time when i just do one at a time.

Chris...OK, I get it with the sponges. VERY cool idea. Gonna arm myself with these as they are easily available from the local dollar store. I love how you have two builds going at once. Have yet to do that, but, if I keep signing on to GBs I may have to!! And what a way to do it: before and after Corsairs...lookin`good buds!!

Wayne, I airbrushed the camo pattern at low pressure, somewhere about 15psi. I have a few different airbrushes and for the very fine lines I found that my Sonar works best. I'm certainly going to find a few more 1/72 armor kits, I didn't know if I would enjoy it but I found different problems from 1/35. Such as the track cleats didn't fit between the double wheels, it just wouldn't set down in there so I had to do some trimming and glue them in place. Thats something you would never give a thought to, anyway I keep saying I really enjoyed this GB and thanks for hosting Wayne that front page is going to look real nice.  Terry  

Also managed to get a little bit done on the A-7.

Have laid down a primer coat of Tamiya neutral gray (XF-19), followed by some pre-shading.

In this pic you can see where i've plugged up the intake with the cosmetic sponges i spoke about in a previous post.  Hopefully it will leave a nice clean mask line.

Managed to get a little bit more done on the F4U.

Have put down the top coat and painted the prop.  In the pics, it is just placed on the model. I'll need to finish it off before attaching.

Next steps will be to finish the landing gear and lay down a gloss coat.

Thanks guys.

Rob, this version of the eurofighter wasn't operational, however, so the missiles would have to be painted as dummy/test rounds which I believe would just be white? I think I'll just keep em in the spares bin for a 1/72 what if'er of a european fighter that comes naked.

Wayne and Chris, thanks, I'm quite happy with the "cleanness" as well

Whoa whoa whoa??? What's going on here?  Three completed builds all on the same day!!!

Rob - that rigging looks fiddly on 1/32 aircraft, i can't imagine trying to test my patience on 1/72.  It looks fantastic.

Jibber - great looking Tiger. I've never built a 1/72 armour. The detail looks terrific and you must have had a steady hand for that camo job.

Josiah - beautiful clean build.

Ernest - very clever with the stippling. I'll be stealing that tip for any Shermans i build in the future (just need to add one to the stash first).

I did consider EZ line for a bit, then decided to go with the stretched sprue. The plane was just so tiny it would be difficult to work with it, so, I went back to basics. I reserve the EZ line for the big 1/32 scale builds where I can really stretch it out.

jibber

Rob thanks, I really enjoyed this scale. I think I'll pick up a few more.

JIBBER - i don't feel so bad now. i fear i am embracing the tiny dark side a bit too. mine started with getting modern bundeswehr vehicles that weren't in 1/35. of course than i found most of them at vendors and stash sales but still. maybe i need to pull out a BIG 1/72 to feel comfortable, something like an FW-200 CONDOR or DORA RR GUN.

JOSIAH - very nice EUROFIGHTER, clean crisp lines smooth paint job. i agree with your decision not to weather it.

TERRY - very nice TIGER. did you airbrush the camo? if so how did you mask or was it freehand with low pressure?

ROB - perhaps the only upside to having your frau based someplace else. same question on painting. i really like doing the odd camo patterns and markings. maybe that is why i have a few UN vehicles. and you sprued the rigging? wow. i would probably have gone with EZ Line.

Rob thanks, I really enjoyed this scale. I think I'll pick up a few more.

Josiah...very cool Eurofighter. I especially love the 4 country roundels on the right wing and fuselage. My only complaint: She's not armed LOL...gotta get some missiles on 'er, eh?

Terry...Great Tiger..she looks right and ready for action!! Well done. Keep up the good work guys!!

Forgot about these two..

Here's mine all finished up...

Rob and Jibber fantastic builds you have made.Ernest that Sherman is looking pretty good too....I would have to do a double take if I did not know that was 1/72 scale...it does not look like it.

Ernest

        The Sherman is coming along nicely, and quickly.  The texturing on the turret looks really good too.

Rob

        Another excellent looking build, those skis give the impression that it is wearing a pair of oversized clown shoes.

Jibber

        Nice looking Tiger, especially the camouflage given how tiny those patterns are.

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Wayne I'm calling my Braille Scale German Tiger done. I tried to copy Dragon's box art and I've really enjoyed working in this scale.  

So, as it's a holiday here in Quebec, I had the day off, so, I got the Gloster J-8A finished (after 14 days of work on it). It was a challenging build. The front cowling was fiddly and required some extra work to fill and sand. Also, the ski landing gear is quite weak. The large skis are held in place with very thin connectors, which, if you know Airfix plastic, is very soft, thus care must be taken during construction. I went with stretched sprue rigging painted with Vallejo metallic grey. I chose to go with the alternate option of a fighter from Flygflottilj 19, Finnish Air Force, Kemi, Northern Finland in 1940. But, overall, as one of Airfix's new tooling line, the detail and finish was the usual 'excellent' for the price point despite a few building 'glitches'.

yeah, that stippling looks good, eh?

Thanks Rob!

The work week means I can only put a couple of hours an evening into this, so I managed to get a bit more done.  From now on I'll be jumping around the steps, working on certain parts and assemblies out of order.

Added the fenders, radio operator hatch, glacis bolt strip (hidden in photo) and dry fitted the lower glacis armor plate add-on.  I thought I would have problems with the fenders with their support arms, but they actually went on without much problems!  Then I assembled the main parts of the turret and stuck it on to see how cool it looked!

The surface texture of the turret was pretty smooth so I simulated a cast texture by brushing on Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement and stippled it with a brush while still wet.  I did this heavier on the sides, a bit lighter on the top and just a bit on the mantlet.  I lightly sanded the surfaces to cut down the gloss, but its still hard to see in these pics. 

I still need to clean up the turret seams and perhaps tone down the cast texture.  I got a bit heavy handed on the right side of the turret and over did it!

More to come!

Ernest, yup, Dragon models, eh? Fiddly parts and sometimes complications like your bogies. I've done several and have noticed the same. Anyway, great to see the progress thus far!